Month: August 2014

Both Estée Lauder’s Double Wear and Revlon’s Colorstay Foundations have earned rave reviews on the beauty blog circuit, but unfortunately this blogger is biased. I kind of hate the high street option. And not just because it forces me to spell “colour” the American way. Blerughregv.

Naturally, I first picked up Revlon Colorstay with the hope that it would be a shining, wonderful Double Wear dupe that would save me around 20 quid every time I bought a new bottle of foundation.

But it wasn’t. The first day I wore it for work, I had the following discussion with a colleague, roughly 3 hours into the day:

With that conversation in mind, it’s fair to say that this contest won’t look too favourably on Revlon’s offering. Rest assured, though, that when I first tried it, I was objective – even hopeful. I’ve scored both Colorstay and Double Wear out of 10 for their various qualities below. I hope you enjoy reading it!

Revlon Colorstay:Shade Range: Not the best but good for a drugstore brand – Boots.com currently shows 13 options. I chose 110 Ivory. Bonus points for having two versions of the product for Combination / Oily Skin and Normal / Dry Skin. I chose the former, obvs. 8/10.Packaging: Nice and compact, sleek glass bottle, but no pump. You have to bash it against your hand to get product out. 4/10.Consistency: Nice. It doesn’t have the stickiness of Double Wear, and glides on well. It also feels more breathable. 8/10.Coverage: It’s not quite Vichy Dermablend, but it does the job on my acne. 7/10 for initial application.Lasting Power: Really quite poor, given that it’s supposed to last 24 hours. The colour sort of shrinks on your skin, sliding off the oily bits and collecting on more ‘normal’ parts of the face. You end up with patches of built-up product rather than a nice even spread, and in the case of my oily face this happens within 4 hours. Far from flawless, even with Laura Mercier primer. 2/10.Price: £12.49 for 30ml.Repurchase? Heyll no. Patchyfacetime is not an experience I want to repeat. 29/50.

Estée Lauder Double Wear:Shade Range: 29 shades at last count. That’s pretty good, but there could be more options for darker skin tones. 9/10.Packaging: Again, nice and compact, the frosted glass bottle is very chic. Unfortunately still no pump. Similar product extraction issues to the high street dupe. Extra half point given for the posh glass. 4.5/10.Consistency: You have to apply this quickly as it can get sticky, and it’s one of the more mask-like foundations in my collection in terms of breathability. That said, it rarely cakes. 6/10.Coverage: Excellent all day. I swore by this to cover my acne for many years. 9/10.Lasting Power: The best I’ve tried. Lasts all day, even without primer. That sticky mask is good for something, at least! 9/10.Price: £29.50 for 30ml.Repurchase? Yes, but not for everyday wear. It’s a good thing to have in your kit for long and/or hot days, but it’s not a go-to foundation for me any more – it’s too hard to get off! 37.5/50.

I picked up the Garnier Micellar Water a few weeks back in the hope that, quite simply, it would do good things to my face.

I’ve never tried Bioderma before but had heard good things about its high street imitations. The Garnier version claims to remove makeup, cleanse, and soothe – “even for sensitive skin!” – and I’d say it does a reasonable job at all three.

Reasonable being the operative word. For a drugstore cleanser, it does as well as could be reasonably expected. I’ve been using it principally to remove makeup, and it does an OK job, but struggles with waterproof mascara and some heavier foundations. As I’m a crier who suffers from acne, it doesn’t do a fantastic job for me.

I also take issue with the whole gentleness spiel. Granted, it’s kind on the skin, but it does sting in a rather bitchy way around the eyes. Perhaps that’s just me and my dry eyes, though. After all, being hypoallergenic and perfume-free, this is one of the kinder options on the drugstore market, and I couldn’t see any parabens or alcohol on the ingredients list either, which speaks rather highly of the stuff.

Overall, I found I enjoyed this product more when I wasn’t trying to remove makeup. First thing in the morning, swiping it over your face soothes puffiness and gently wakes you up, and in the evening it makes a nice pre-bed cleanser.

For the oilier among us who prefer a good rinse, and for those with a penchant for a smoky eye, this isn’t the best choice. But if you’re only a light makeup wearer and need a gentle cleansing solution, the poor man’s Bioderma is a princely option for you.

Ahhh GUYS. I have missed you. I never expected it to happen, but for the last few weeks I’ve been getting home from a day of writing, and not fancying writing in the evening. It’s weird. It’s not like me. Usually I can spend every waking minute writing and still want to do more. I dunno, maybe it’s my new “no caffeine after 5pm” rule?

Anyway, I’m sorry. I’m back now, and I can’t wait to read all of your posts too – it’s going to be fun catching up with all of you!

Today I’m starting with a Summer Empties post. It would have been a July empties post but it’s been August for eleven days, so that seemed a bit inappropriate. And some of the stuff was from June…

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in ‘Translucent’ – I love this powder. It only costs £3.99 and it very much does the job. It makes my makeup last much longer and keeps the oil at bay pretty much all day. Unfortunately, though, it doesn’t fare so well when it’s nearly empty, and you drop it. Shattered everywhere. Thank God Dad fixed up the old vacuum cleaner for me this week…!

Sanctuary Spa Crème Soufflé – I got this stuff for Christmas and it’s beautiful. It leaves your skin moisturised all day but doesn’t make you feel all sticky when it’s first applied, and it smells dreamy. The scent sort of reminds me of orange peel. Anyway, lush. Would definitely repurchase.

Gucci Envy Me Body Lotion – This is from at least five Christmasses ago. I’ve been trying to use body moisturisers every day this summer, as I have so many hauled up that just don’t get used. This came in a set with the ‘Envy Me’ perfume, which is gorgeous but long gone. Anyway, it smells fantastic, doesn’t feel sticky, and my legs and arms felt so silky after using it. Lovely!

Alterna Bamboo Smooth Kendi Oil Dry Oil Mist – One product probably shouldn’t have this many names, but this is nice stuff. I got it in last year’s You Beauty Advent Calendar and initially steered well clear. Having such oily skin and previously greasy hair (bleach does wonders, peeps) I feared anything that defined itself as “oil”, but I was wrong to. This oil mist has a lovely, aromatic scent and detangles my hair before I blow dry it, without making it greasy. Vair nice.

Clarins Lait Démaquillant Velours – This is a lovely cream cleanser – it makes my skin feel soft and plump and clean. Which is ideal, really. Unfortunately I probably wouldn’t repurchase it, mostly because I prefer a facial wash to a cleansing milk now, and this stuff needs a bit of help removing the toughest eye makeup.

Clarins Toning Lotion with Iris – By contrast, I’d repurchase this stuff if I could justify the expense. It makes my skin feel so fresh after cleansing. Love!

L’Oreal Elvive Fibrology Shampoo and Conditioner – I couldn’t believe it when I first tried the shampoo – it instantly lifted my fine hair and gave it more volume, more than I’ve ever seen a shampoo do before. If you’re looking for a “wow” factor, this is the stuff for you.

A couple of months on, though, the conditioner is disappointing me. It could be the summer weather, but my hair is quite dry at the moment. As this is designed to keep your hair light and fluffy, it’s not really doing the job in terms of moisturising those follicles, so I won’t be buying to conditioner again.

Lush ‘Whoosh’ Shower Jelly – This stuff’s a bit of a mixed bag, but I loved it all the same. The smell and the concept – lemony, zesty and fun – are great, but the execution isn’t that well thought out. In the sense that when you’re using the jelly in your morning shower, trying to lather it up, and it goes shooting out of your hands, your brain isn’t yet sharp enough to deal with that situation. It just makes you rage a bit.

Bomb Cosmetics ‘Pina Colada’ Cleansing Shower Butter – I really liked this. My boyfriend got it for me for Christmas. It smells like the cocktail, which is delicious, and it lathers really well – even in hard water areas. Big fan!

So, that brings the Summer empties to an end for now. No doubt I’ll have more to tell you about by September! What have you been avidly using of late?